Fair Values of Assets and Liabilities (Details 4) (Ameriprise Financial, USD $) In Millions, unless otherwise specified	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2012
Residential mortgage backed securities
Summary of the significant unobservable inputs
Fair value	195
Residential mortgage backed securities | Maximum | Discounted cash flow valuation technique
Summary of the significant unobservable inputs
Constant prepayment rate (as a percent)	12.30%
Annual default rate	20.00%
Loss severity (as a percent)	72.00%
Yield/spread to treasury (as a percent)	20.90%
Residential mortgage backed securities | Minimum | Discounted cash flow valuation technique
Summary of the significant unobservable inputs
Constant prepayment rate (as a percent)	0.50%
Annual default rate	0.90%
Loss severity (as a percent)	34.00%
Yield/spread to treasury (as a percent)	6.40%
Residential mortgage backed securities | Weighted Average | Discounted cash flow valuation technique
Summary of the significant unobservable inputs
Constant prepayment rate (as a percent)	3.30%
Annual default rate	11.90%
Loss severity (as a percent)	58.00%
Yield/spread to treasury (as a percent)	9.10%
Asset backed securities
Summary of the significant unobservable inputs
Fair value	17
Asset backed securities | Maximum | Discounted cash flow valuation technique
Summary of the significant unobservable inputs
Constant prepayment rate (as a percent)	7.70%
Annual default rate	12.50%
Loss severity (as a percent)	100.00%
Yield/spread to treasury (as a percent)	14.00%
Asset backed securities | Minimum | Discounted cash flow valuation technique
Summary of the significant unobservable inputs
Constant prepayment rate (as a percent)	2.30%
Annual default rate	3.50%
Loss severity (as a percent)	68.00%
Yield/spread to treasury (as a percent)	9.60%
Asset backed securities | Weighted Average | Discounted cash flow valuation technique
Summary of the significant unobservable inputs
Constant prepayment rate (as a percent)	3.30%
Annual default rate	7.70%
Loss severity (as a percent)	77.00%
Yield/spread to treasury (as a percent)	11.90%
GMWB and GMAB embedded derivatives
Summary of the significant unobservable inputs
Fair value	840
GMWB and GMAB embedded derivatives | Discounted cash flow valuation technique
Summary of the significant unobservable inputs
Nonperformance risk (as a percent)	1.01%
GMWB and GMAB embedded derivatives | Maximum | Discounted cash flow valuation technique
Summary of the significant unobservable inputs
Utilization of guaranteed withdrawals (as a percent)	90.00%
Surrender Rate (as a percent)	56.30%
Market volatility (as a percent)	22.30%
GMWB and GMAB embedded derivatives | Minimum | Discounted cash flow valuation technique
Summary of the significant unobservable inputs
Utilization of guaranteed withdrawals (as a percent)	0.00%
Surrender Rate (as a percent)	0.00%
Market volatility (as a percent)	5.80%